The Treatment of Benign Hypertension with Clonidine

Abstract

Clonidine (Catapres) is a new drug for the treatment of hypertension which has an uncertain mode of action. Sixty-one patients have been treated with Clonidine for up to 21 months. Side-effects of treatment have been troublesome and in 20 per cent of patients have necessitated discontinuing therapy. Sedation was the most frequent and troublesome side-effect. Dryness of the mouth was a less troublesome symptom. In only 48 per cent of patients continuing Clonidine was good blood pressure control achieved and maintained. In a comparable group of patients treated with Methyl Dopa only 7 per cent had to discontinue therapy because of side-effects of the drug, and effective control was achieved in 70 per cent of the remainder. Clonidine is strikingly devoid of postural and exercise hypotensive effects, and produces a uniform control of blood pressure throughout the day. It has been successfully combined with Methyl Dopa and Bethanidine. Despite its troublesome side-effects, these attributes may make it a satisfactory drug for the treatment of patients in whom uniform control is difficult.